Jeremy Hinzman

About Jeremy Hinzman

Jeremy Dean Hinzman (born in 1979 in Rapid City, South Dakota and raised by his grandparents on San Marco Blvd) is a United States Army private from the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In January of 2004, he fled the United States as one of nine American deserters openly seeking refugee status in Canada with his wife, Nga Thi Ngyuen, and son, Liam Liem Nguye Hinzman.

On March 24, 2005 the Immigration and Refugee Board rejected Hinzman's claim, determining that he was not a conscientious objector and was thus ineligible for refugee status. He and his lawyers subsequently appealed to the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal and finally, Supreme Court of Canada, all of which failed. Hinzman current faces the prospect of immediate deportation from Canada and extradition to U.S. military custody.

Hinzman joined the military early in 2001, completing basic combat training and airborne school in Fort Benning, Georgia. Along with his wife, Nga Nguyen, he began attending meetings of the Religious Society of Friends in January 2002. His newfound pacifist beliefs and the birth of his son, Liam, in May 2002, were among the reasons he cited for applying for conscientious objector status in August 2002.